Heuchera plant named ‘Ginger Snap’

ABSTRACT

A new and distinct  Heuchera  plant characterized by small, heavily veiled, lightly ruffled leaves that are red brown in spring, winter leaves olive green with a white veil, very short flowering stems of pink flowers, reblooming all spring, summer, and fall, small, multi-crowned, low mounding habit, and good vigor.

Botanical denomination: Heuchera sp.

Variety designation: ‘Ginger Snap’.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Heuchera and given the cultivar name of ‘Ginger Snap’. Heuchera is in the family Saxifragaceae. Heuchera ‘Ginger Snap’ is the end product of a planned breeding program to create miniature Heuchera for small pots. This new cultivar originated from a cross between Heuchera K420-2, a proprietary non-commercial hybrid, as the seed parent, and Heuchera K360-1, a proprietary non-commercial hybrid, as, as the pollen parent.

Compared to the seed parent, Heuchera K420-2, the new cultivar has leaves that are well veiled and lightly ruffled and red brown rather than very lightly veiled, not ruffled, and dark.

Compared to the pollen parent, Heuchera K360-1, the new cultivar is similar with a better crown and flowering habit.

Compared to Heuchera ‘Milan’, U.S. Plant Pat. No. 21,682, the new cultivar is smaller overall with lighter pink flowers and main leaf color red brown to olive green rather than silver purple to silver.

Compared to Heuchera ‘Vienna’, U.S. Plant Pat. No. 23,308, the new cultivar has a smaller habit and smaller, more ruffled leaves that have red brown rather than orange in the background color.

This new Heuchera is uniquely distinguished by:

-   -   1. small, heavily veiled, lightly ruffled leaves that are red         brown in spring,     -   2. winter leaves olive green with a white veil,     -   3. very short flowering stems of pink flowers,     -   4. reblooming all spring, summer, and fall,     -   5. small, multi-crowned, low mounding habit, and     -   6. good vigor.

This new cultivar has been reproduced only by asexual propagation (tip cuttings and tissue culture). Each of the progeny exhibits identical characteristics to the original plant. Asexual propagation by cuttings and tissue culture using standard micropropagation techniques with terminal and lateral shoots, as done in Canby, Oreg., shows that the foregoing characteristics and distinctions come true to form and are established and transmitted through succeeding propagations. The present invention has not been evaluated under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may change with variations in environment without a change in the genotype of the plant.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a two-year-old plant of Heuchera ‘Ginger Snap’ growing in a one gallon pot in a cold greenhouse in April in Canby, Oreg.

FIG. 2 shows a one-year-old plant of Heuchera ‘Ginger Snap’ growing in a one gallon pot in a cold greenhouse in August in Canby, Oreg.

DETAILED PLANT DESCRIPTION

The following is a detailed description of the new Heuchera cultivar based on observations of two-year-old specimens growing in one gallon containers in a cold greenhouse in March in Canby, Oreg. Canby is Zone 8 on the USDA Hardiness map. Temperatures range from a high of 95 degrees F. in August to an average of 32 degrees F. in January. Normal rainfall in Canby is 42.8 inches per year. The color descriptions are all based on The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, 2007 edition.

-   Plant:     -   -   Form.—Basal rosette, herbaceous perennial.         -   Hardiness.—USDA Zone 4 to 9.         -   Size.—12 cm tall from top of the foliage to the ground and             25 cm wide.         -   Habit.—Mounding.         -   Vigor.—Good. -   Leaf:     -   -   Type.—Simple.         -   Arrangement.—Rosette.         -   Number.—About 40.         -   Shape.—Broadly ovate to orbicular.         -   Lobing/division.—5 to 7 lobes.         -   Venation.—Palmate.         -   Margins.—Crenate and lightly undulate.         -   Apex.—Mucronulate.         -   Base.—Cordate and overlapping.         -   Blade size.—Grows to 6.5 cm long and 6.5 cm wide.         -   Surface texture.—Glandular on top and bottom.         -   Petiole description.—Grows to 8.5 cm long and 1.5 mm wide,             glandular hairs, Greyed Purple 187C.         -   Leaf color.—Color variable, topside spring, summer and fall,             new leaves Greyed White NN155A over a background of Greyed             Red 181A with the veins Greyed Red 181A, background color on             mature leaves changes to Greyed Orange 165A and later in             winter to Yellow Green 148A; bottom side all seasons Greyed             Purple 187B. -   Inflorescence:     -   -   Size.—Grows to 3.5 cm wide and 6 cm long.         -   Type.—Thyrse.         -   Number of flowers per thyrse.—About 30.         -   Number of thyrse.—About 10 in the first spring flush,             reblooming all summer.         -   Peduncle.—Grows to 11.5 cm long, 1 mm wide at base, Greyed             Purple 187B, glandular hairs.         -   Pedicel.—Variable in size, with glandular hairs, Greyed             Purple 187B.         -   Bloom period.—April through October in Canby, Oreg. -   Flower bud:     -   -   Size.—2.5 mm wide and 4 mm long.         -   Description.—Glandular puberulent, ovoid, down facing.         -   Color.—Red 48C. -   Flower:     -   -   Type.—Perfect.         -   Shape.—Campanulate.         -   Size.—6 mm long and 5 mm wide.         -   Corolla description.—5 petals, 3 mm long and 0.5 mm wide,             reflexed, narrowly spatulate, margins entire, tip acute,             glabrous top and glandular on bottom, White N155B.         -   Calyx description.—Campanulate, 5 mm long and 5 mm wide,             with 5 lobes divided ½ way to the base, each 1.5 mm wide and             2 mm long, glandular hairs outside and glabrous inside, tips             obtuse, margin entire; color both sides Red Purple 62B.         -   Stamen description.—5 in number, filaments 3.5 mm long,             White NN155C, anthers 0.2 mm, Red 37A, pollen Orange 26A.         -   Pistil description.—1, 2-beaked, 4 mm long and 1.5 mm wide;             Yellow Green 145C overall, ovary 1.5 mm long and 1.5 mm             wide; style 2.5 mm long.         -   Fragrance.—None.         -   Lastingness.—Each thyrse blooms for about 3 weeks on the             plant. -   Fruit and seed: None seen. -   Pest and disease tolerance: The new cultivar is typical to the     genus. No known resistances to pests or diseases. No problems have     been found in Canby, Oreg. 

I claim:
 1. A new and distinct Heuchera plant as herein illustrated and described. 